I thought maybe it was something like WD-40 (40th attempt). Maybe it took 8273 failures before Warn made the 8274 winch that worked. I learned over the weekend that it in fact means something.
8 is the weight capacity
2 is the direction (power both in and out where previous model was only power in)
74 is the year they started manufacturing the 8274.
Don't you feel smarter now?